OMG! OMG!

[ProSense]

BWC tried to keep $215M loss under wraps prior to '04 vote
Documents reflect director's concern about possible 'leak'

By JAMES DREW
and STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITERS

COLUMBUS - Less than a week before the 2004 presidential election, Jim Conrad, then head of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, took steps to ensure that a $215 million investment loss in an offshore hedge-fund would not become public, documents obtained by The Blade show.

On Oct. 27, 2004 - just six days before President Bush was re-elected after narrowly winning Ohio - Mr. Conrad expressed his concern about a potential "leak" of the losses in an e-mail to John Annarino, then the bureau's chief legal counsel and ethics officer. In the e-mail, Mr. Conrad advised how Mr. Annarino and James McLean, then the bureau's investment director, should manage the agency's investment staff to keep the potentially explosive losses under wraps.

Snip...

The allegation that high-ranking bureau officials covered up the MDL hedge-fund loss has emerged in the state's civil lawsuit seeking to recover the $215 million investment loss. That lawsuit is pending in federal court in Columbus.

Snip...

Mum on MDL
Under the pressure of the scandal surrounding the bureau's failed $50 million rare-coin fund with GOP fund-raiser Tom Noe, bureau officials on June 7, 2005, revealed the losses in the MDL investment - after concealing them for more than eight months. Three days later, the bureau sued MDL and several of its principals, alleging fraud and breach of contract.


Snip...

Political environment

As the extent of the MDL losses were becoming clear in the fall of 2004, e-mails show that the upcoming elections were on the minds of high-ranking bureau officials, including Mr. Conrad, a longtime aide to Republican U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, who was on the Nov. 2, 2004, ballot.

In an Aug. 27, 2004, e-mail to Mark Nedved, then the bureau's legislative lobbyist, and another high-ranking aide, Mr. Conrad wrote: "How to start each day with a positive outlook … 1. Open a new file in your PC. 2. Name it 'John Kerry.' 3. Send it to the trash. 4. Empty the trash. 5. Your PC will ask you, 'Do you really want to get rid of John Kerry?' 6. Answer calmly, 'yes,' and press the mouse button firmly. 7. Feel better already."

On Oct. 28, 2004, Mr. Conrad arranged to have lunch with Mr. Samuel on the day after the election.

"GREAT point … We can discuss the recount," Mr. Samuel wrote.

It also was on Oct. 28, 2004, in which Mr. Conrad, in an e-mail to two aides about his decision to not include information about the MDL hedge-fund loss in a weekly report to Mr. Taft, wrote, "There are 13 copies of it made and we don't need it getting unnecessarily passed around."

On Election Night, about an hour before polls closed, Mr. Conrad wrote to Mr. Annarino: "Too bad the election outcome isn't sounding too good!" Exit polls showed Mr. Bush trailing Mr. Kerry in Ohio.

more...

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060813/NEWS24/608130338/-1/NEWS

Am I overreacting?

[ProSense]

1. Posted in

in GD-P:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2777195&mesg_id=2777195

[TayTay]

2. OMG indeed

I will read this tomorrow and give it the attention it deserves.

Thank you so much for pointing this out. I am a bit wiped tonight, but I intend to visit this tomorrow morning and will comment on it and send it around.

Thanks for posting this. Even in my sleepy state I think this is an OMG indeed!

[blm]

3. Indeed, INDEED!

And I trust it will get exactly where it needs to go.

[TayTay]

4. Yes ma'am.

We will all do our best to forward this one.

It is unbelievable all the various corruptions that have gone into making Ohio into what it is today. Just unbelievable. Anybody have a ny poliing on how the Gov and midterms are going there?

[blm]

5. It's actually NOT unbelievable about Ohio - it's long been a KNOWN FACTOR

that the GOP needs Ohio to get the WH.

What's unbelievable is that Clinton and McAuliffe, knowing the import of Ohio, allowed the state's Dem party infrastructure to deteriorate since 1996 campaign. Ohio became the collapsed Dem state Clinton/McAuliffe CHOSE for it to become.

[whometense]

6. Got these

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/July%202006/ohioGovernor.htm

Ohio Governor: Strickland (D) Lead Holding

Blackwell (R) 39%, Strickland (D) 50%
August 1, 2006

Unlike the U.S. Senate race in the state, Ohio's gubernatorial contest is not showing much movement.

The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll in Ohio shows Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland leading Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell 50% to 39% (see crosstabs). Strickland continues to do better among unaffiliated voters and especially moderates, and manages to lure 23% of GOP voters. Blackwell attracts the support of only 9% of Democrats.

Strickland is viewed favorably by 51% of all voters, Blackwell by 43%. Blackwell, looked on unfavorably by 48%. This figure includes a high number (31%) who view him "very" unfavorably. That’s up six percentage points since June.

President Bush’s job performance earns approval from 43% of Ohio voters and disapproval from 55%. Forty-four percent (44%) voice "strong" disapproval of the President.

That's practically a cheerleading squad, though, compared to how Ohioans view their state's chief executive. Republican Governor Bob Taft gets approval from only 20%. More than three quarters, 77%, disapprove including 51% who do so "strongly."

Taft has been mired for months in a corruption scandal having to do with unreported gifts from lobbyists (and which resulted in criminal misdemeanor charges).

Blackwell has clashed with Taft on taxes and other issues. However, his actions as Ohio Secretary Of State during the 2004 election and some of his fundraising activities have also come under scrutiny.

Sixty percent (60%) of Ohio voters say the political system is "badly broken," including 43% of Republicans, 75% of Democrats, and 65% of unaffiliated voters.

Fifteen percent (15%) say corruption is the top issue affecting their vote, slightly higher than say it's the war in Iraq (13%). Sixty-two percent (62%) of those who rank corruption as their number one issue support Strickland; 43% of the same group regard Blackwell "very unfavorably."

The economy is the top issue on voters’ minds, mentioned by 36% as most important.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/July%202006/ohioSenate.htm

Ohio Senate: Again, DeWine (R) Behind
Brown (D) 44%, DeWine (R) 42%
August 1, 2006
Democratic Challenger Sherrod Brown

Here we go again. For the second time in three consecutive election polls of Ohio's competitive race for U.S. Senate, the Democratic challenger has edged ahead of the Republican incumbent.

Despite the seven-point edge Senator Mike DeWine enjoyed last month, this doesn't look like a statistical blip: before these last three polls, DeWine had not trailed even once. Moreover, our three-poll rolling average shows a relatively stable five-point margin for DeWine earlier in the year that has now tapered to a tie. The race is clearly trending away from the incumbent.

We're seeing the same trend in other competitive races, with GOP incumbents now trailing in Montana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Missouri.

Earlier in the campaign season, the only Republican incumbent actually trailing was Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum—and Santorum lagged so badly and persistently that there was some justification for segregating his fate from that of Republicans generally. But now it looks more likely that the others in the GOP will share Santorum’s fate.

DeWine is viewed favorably by 46%, unfavorably by 44%. For Sherrod Brown the numbers are 45% favorable, 40% unfavorable.

Both campaigns have stepped up spending lately on TV ads.

The number one issue for voters here is the economy (though political corruption, as we note in our story on the governor's race, also ranks fairly high for Ohioans). Voters especially worried about the economy tend to prefer Brown by a large margin.

In fact, just about half of Brown's voters (47%) say that the economy is their number one concern. Thirty-six percent (36%) of all voters say so.

Sixty-three percent (63%) are relatively confident that ballots are properly counted in most elections; 34% are not confident.

And Rasmussen's pretty reliably Republican-biased.

[whometense]

7. SurveyUSA

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=55368&provider=top

Dated August 9

Brown, who represents Ohio's 13th District in Congress, unseats DeWine, 49% to 41% in a vote today, statistically unchanged from an identical SurveyUSA poll released two months ago.

Though there is volatility among age groups - Brown is up among the youngest voters, down among middle-aged voters - the overall outcome is unchanged.

The two candidates are tied among male voters.

Brown's overall 8-point advantage comes entirely from his 15-point lead among female voters.

More notes on the Survey:


* DeWine holds 78% of his Republican base.

* Brown holds 82% of his Democrat base.

* Brown leads by 15 points among Independents.

* Republican DeWine leads by 59 points among Conservatives.

* Democrat Brown leads by 71 points among Liberals.

* But among Moderates, the Democrat leads 2:1.

* In Suburban and Rural Ohio, the two candidates are tied.

* In Urban Ohio, Brown leads 2:1. The election is in 13 weeks, on 11/7/2006.


Filtering: 1,000 Ohio adults were surveyed 8/5/2006 - 8/7/2006. Of them, 848 were registered to vote. Of them, 503 were judged to be "likely" voters. Crosstabs reflect Likely Voters.

[ProSense]

8. Thanks for these!

I hope Ohians drive Blackwell out of politics. I still look forward to someone dragging his butt into court about the 2004 election.

[whometense]

9. That would be very sweet. n/t